Generation X and Generation Golf: What Advertisers Need to Know When Targeting German and American Thirty-Somethings

Authors

Frauke Hachtmann, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow

Date of this Version

10-8-2005

Document Type

Article

Comments

Paper presented October 8, 2005, at European Studies Conference, Omaha, Nebraska. Published online at http://www.unomaha.edu/esc/2005papers.htm Copyright (c) 2005 Frauke Hachtmann.

Abstract

While most of the academic research currently focuses on defining and analyzing Generation Y, trade publications in the advertising and media field are publishing more and more articles about Generation X, primarily because this segment has been extremely difficult to reach for advertisers (Overington, 2005). American companies have conducted business in Germany for many years (and vice versa) and need to understand the next generation that is going to drive global business in a new system that replaced the Cold War and reveals the interdependence of economies: globalization. The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast what is commonly known as “Generation X” in the United States and now labeled “Generation Golf” in Germany by analyzing the literature that is available in the United States and Illies’ (2001) book “Generation Golf.” Global advertising practitioners will benefit from this paper because they will be better prepared to target Generation X in Germany by having a more complete psychographic description of their target audience.